KR20220038092A - Negotiation of bearer type configurations - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed for a wireless device to perform bearer type configuration and/or negotiation of related parameters. A user equipment device (UE) and/or network may determine bearer configuration and/or other parameters based on the UE's information or measurements. The UE and BS may exchange data using the negotiated configuration.

Description

Negotiation of bearer type configurations

BACKGROUND This application relates to wireless devices, and more particularly, to apparatus, systems, and methods for negotiating bearer types and bearer type configurations.

BACKGROUND Wireless communication systems are rapidly increasing in use. In addition, wireless communication technologies have evolved to also include the transmission of data, such as the Internet and multimedia content, from voice-only communications. Dual connection procedures can significantly improve the user experience, but can also introduce new challenges. Examples of new challenges include rapid power drain and associated thermal issues. Accordingly, improvements in this field are desired.

Embodiments relate to apparatuses, systems and methods for performing negotiation of bearer types, bearer type configurations, and/or related parameters.

In some embodiments, a user equipment device (UE) may enter a dual connectivity mode of communication with a cellular network. The UE may determine a proposed uplink bearer configuration and/or a proposed downlink bearer configuration, and may transmit the proposed bearer configurations to the network. The network may select a bearer configuration or configurations based on the UE's proposed bearer configurations and/or other information, eg, when the selected bearer configuration is used for uplink transition by the UE, an indication of the selected bearer configuration to the UE can be sent to The UE may exchange data with the network using the selected bearer configuration. The network may also select a downlink bearer configuration based on the UE proposal, and may exchange data with the UE using the selected downlink bear configuration.

In some embodiments, the UE may transmit a measurement report to the network. The network may select a bearer configuration based on the measurement report and may send an indication of the selected bearer configurations to the UE. The UE may exchange data with the network using the selected bearer configuration.

In some embodiments, the UE may transmit information to the network. The network may select bearer configurations comprising a range of values for the split bearer parameter based on the information, eg, when the selected bearer configuration is used for uplink transition by the UE, sending an indication of the selected bearer configuration to the UE can do. The UE may exchange data with the network using the selected bearer configuration and dynamically adjusting the split bearer parameter within a range of values. Additionally, the network may also select a downlink bearer configuration based on the UE transmission information, and may exchange data with the UE using the selected downlink bear configuration.

This disclosure is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, it will be understood that the features described above are exemplary only and should not be construed as limiting in any way the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein. Other features, aspects and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings and claims.

A better understanding of the subject matter of the present invention may be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system, in accordance with some embodiments.
2 shows a base station (BS) in communication with a user equipment (UE) device, in accordance with some embodiments.
3 shows an example block diagram of a UE in accordance with some embodiments.
4 shows an exemplary block diagram of a BS in accordance with some embodiments.
5 shows an exemplary block diagram of cellular communication circuitry in accordance with some embodiments.
6 and 7 show examples of a 5G NR base station (gNB) in accordance with some embodiments.
8 illustrates techniques for negotiating bearer configuration, in accordance with some embodiments.
9 shows an example architecture for different cell groups and split bearers, in accordance with some embodiments.
10 and 11 illustrate aspects of an exemplary dual connect connection, in accordance with some embodiments.
12-14 show examples of a user equipment device transmitting proposals for bearer configuration, according to some embodiments.
15 illustrates an exemplary bearer proposal structure in accordance with some embodiments.
16 illustrates aspects of a dynamic bearer configuration in accordance with some embodiments.
While various modifications and alternative forms of features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments herein are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. However, the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to be limited to the specific form disclosed, and on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, etc., falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims; and alternatives.

Terms

The following is an explanation of terms used in the present invention:

Memory medium - any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term “memory medium” includes an installation medium such as a CD-ROM, floppy disks, or tape device; computer system memory or random access memory, such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, and the like; non-volatile memory such as flash, magnetic media such as a hard drive, or optical storage; registers, or other similar types of memory elements, and the like. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or combinations thereof. Further, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system in which the programs are executed, or may be located in a different second computer system that is connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide the program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations, eg, in different computer systems that are connected via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (eg, implemented as computer programs) that may be executed by one or more processors.

Carrier medium - a memory medium as described above, as well as a physical transmission medium such as a bus, a network, and/or other physical transmission medium carrying signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

Programmable Hardware Element - includes various hardware devices comprising a plurality of programmable functional blocks coupled through programmable interconnects. Examples include Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Field Programmable Object Arrays (FPOAs), and Complex PLDs (CPLDs). Programmable functional blocks can range from fine grained (combination logic or lookup tables) to coarse grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). A programmable hardware element may also be referred to as “reconfigurable logic”.

Computer systems - personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, network appliances, Internet appliances, personal digital assistants (PDA), television systems , a grid computing system, or any of various types of computing or processing systems, including other device or combinations of devices. In general, the term “computer system” may be broadly defined to include any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

User Equipment (UE) (or “UE Device”)—any of various types of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (eg iPhone™, Android™ based phones), portable gaming devices (eg Nintendo DS™, PlayStation Portable™, Gameboy Advance™, iPhone™), laptops, wearable devices (eg, smart watch, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, or other handheld devices, and the like. In general, the term “UE” or “UE device” is broadly used to encompass any electronic, computing, and/or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) that is readily transported by a user and capable of wireless communication. can be defined.

Wireless Device - Any of various types of computer system devices that perform wireless communication. A wireless device may be portable (or mobile) or may be stationary or stationary in a particular location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

Communication Device - Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, which may be wired or wireless. The communication device may be portable (or mobile) or may be stationary or stationary in a particular location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

Base Station - The term "base station" includes the full scope of its general meaning and includes at least a radio communication station installed in a fixed location and used to communicate as a radiotelephone system or part of a radio system.

Processing Element - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that can perform a function in a device such as a user equipment or a cellular network device. Processing elements may include, for example, processors and associated memory, portions of individual processor cores or circuits thereof, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays programmable hardware elements such as (FPGA), as well as any of various combinations of the above.

Channel - A medium used to convey information from a transmitter (transmitter) to a receiver. Since the characteristics of the term “channel” may differ for different wireless protocols, the term “channel” as used herein is intended to be used in a manner consistent with the standard of the type of device to which this term is referenced. It should be noted that it can be considered In some standards, channel widths may be variable (eg, depending on device capabilities, band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths of 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. Conversely, WLAN channels may be 22 MHz wide, while Bluetooth channels may be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. Moreover, some standards may define and use different types of channels, eg, different channels for the uplink or downlink, and/or different channels for different uses, such as data, control information, and the like.

Band - The term "band" includes the full range of its generic meaning, including at least the region of the spectrum (eg, radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

automatically —user input does not directly specify or perform the action or action, and the action or action is a computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g., circuitry, programmable hardware elements) , ASICs, etc.). As such, the term “automatically” contrasts with an action that is manually performed or specified by a user, which provides input for the user to perform the action directly. An automatic procedure may be initiated by input provided by the user, but subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., not performed "manually" where the user specifies each action to be performed. . For example, when a user fills out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (eg, typing information, selecting a check box, selecting a radio, etc.) The thing is to manually fill out the form, even if the computer system needs to update the form in response to user actions. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (eg, software running on the computer system) parses the fields of the form and forms the form without any user input specifying responses to the fields. write in As indicated above, the user can invoke autofill of the form, but does not participate in the actual filling out of the form (eg, the user does not manually specify responses to fields, rather they automatically being completed). This specification provides various examples of actions being performed automatically in response to actions taken by a user.

Approximate - refers to an almost correct or exact value. For example, “approximately” may refer to a value that is within 1 to 10 percent of the exact (or desired) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold (or tolerance) may be application dependent. For example, in some embodiments, “approximately” may mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other embodiments a threshold is, for example, as desired or in a particular application. may be 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., as required by

Concurrent - Refers to concurrent execution or execution when tasks, processes, or programs are performed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency uses "strong" or strict concurrency when tasks are performed (at least partially) in parallel on individual computational elements, or when tasks are interleaved, e.g., threads of execution It can be implemented using "weak concurrency" when performed by time multiplexing of

Configured to - Various components may be described as "configured to" perform a task or tasks. In that context, "configured to" is a broad description that generally means "having a structure to" perform a task or tasks during operation. As such, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing that task (eg, a set of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect the two modules). In some contexts, “configured to” may be a broad description of a structure that generally means “having circuitry to” perform a task or tasks during operation. As such, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently in an on state. In general, a circuit portion forming a structure corresponding to “configured to” may include hardware circuits.

Various components may be described as performing a task or tasks for convenience of description. Such descriptions should be construed as including the phrase "configured to". Reference to a component configured to perform one or more tasks is 35 U.S.C. It is expressly intended not to apply the interpretation of § 112(f).

1 and 2 - communication system

1 illustrates a simplified exemplary wireless communication system in accordance with some embodiments. It is noted that the system of FIG. 1 is merely one example of a possible system, and that features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102 in communication with one or more user devices 106A, 106B, etc. through 106N via a transmission medium. Each of the user devices may be referred to herein as a “user equipment (UE)”. Accordingly, user devices 106 are referred to as UEs or UE devices.

Base transceiver station (BS) 102 may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cell site (“cellular base station”), and may be hardware that enables wireless communication with UEs 106A-106N. may include

A communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a “cell”. Base station 102 and UEs 106 are GSM, UMTS (eg associated with WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G NR (5G new radio) , HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (eg, 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards. and may be configured to communicate via a transmission medium. Note that the base station 102 may alternatively be referred to as an 'eNodeB' or an 'eNB' when implemented in the context of LTE. Note that the base station 102 may alternatively be referred to as a 'gNodeB' or a 'gNB' when implemented in the context of 5G NR.

As shown, base station 102 may also be connected to network 100 (eg, a cellular service provider's core network, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and/or the Internet, among other possibilities). It may be equipped to communicate with Accordingly, the base station 102 may facilitate communication between user devices and/or between the user devices and the network 100 . In particular, cellular base station 102 may provide UEs 106 with various telecommunication capabilities, such as voice, SMS and/or data services.

Thus, base station 102, and other similar base stations operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards, may be provided as a network of cells, which may be provided as a network of cells via one or more cellular communication standards to UEs 106A-106N across a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards. and continuous or near-continuous overlapping services to similar devices.

Thus, while base station 102 may serve as a “serving cell” for UEs 106A-106N as shown in FIG. 1 , each UE 106 may also be referred to as “neighboring cells”. may receive signals from (and possibly within its communication range) one or more other cells (which may be provided by other base stations 102B-102N). In addition, these cells may facilitate communication between user devices and/or between user devices and the network 100 . Such cells may include “macro” cells, “micro” cells, “pico” cells, and/or cells that provide any of a variety of other granularities of service area size. Other configurations are also possible.

In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next-generation base station, eg, a 5G NR base station or “gNB”. In some embodiments, the gNB may be connected to a legacy EPC network and/or to an NR core (NRC) network. Additionally, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Also, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs in one or more gNBs.

Note that the UE 106 may communicate using a number of wireless communication standards. For example, UE 106 may use at least one cellular communication protocol (eg, GSM, UMTS (eg, associated with WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, In addition to HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (eg 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD, etc.), wireless networking (eg Wi-Fi) and/or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (eg, , Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). UE 106 may also or alternatively, one or more global navigational satellite systems (GNSS) (eg, GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (eg, ATSC-M/H), and/or if desired, , and may be configured to communicate using any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

2 shows user equipment 106 (eg, one of devices 106A - 106N) in communication with a base station 102 , in accordance with some embodiments. UE 106 may be a mobile phone, a handheld device, a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a computer or tablet, or virtually any type of wireless device.

UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or additionally, the UE 106 may include an FPGA configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein; field programmable gate array).

UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, the UE 106 is, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT/1xEV-DO/HRPD/eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio, and/or a single shared radio It may be configured to communicate using GSM or LTE using a communication device. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna, or it may be coupled to multiple antennas (eg, for multiple input multiple output or “MIMO”) to perform wireless communication. In general, a wireless communication device includes a baseband processor, analog RF signal processing circuitry (including, for example, filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or digital processing circuitry (eg, digital modulation only). but for other digital processing). Similarly, a radio may implement one or more receive and transmit chains using the hardware described above. For example, UE 106 may share one or more portions of a receive and/or transmit chain among multiple wireless communication technologies, such as those discussed above.

In some embodiments, UE 106 may include any number of antennas and may be configured to use the antennas to transmit and/or receive directional wireless signals (eg, beams). Similarly, BS 102 may also include any number of antennas and may be configured to use the antennas to transmit and/or receive directional wireless signals (eg, beams). To receive and/or transmit such directional signals, the antennas of UE 106 and/or BS 102 may be configured to apply different “weights” to different antennas. The process of applying these different weights may be referred to as “precoding”.

In some embodiments, for each wireless communication protocol that the UE 106 is configured to communicate using, the UE includes separate transmit and/or receive chains (eg, separate antennas and other wireless components). ) may be included. As a further possibility, the UE 106 may include one or more radios shared among multiple radio communication protocols, and one or more radios used exclusively by a single radio communication protocol. For example, the UE 106 is a shared radio to communicate using either LTE or 5G NR (or LTE or 1xRTT or LTE or GSM), and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, respectively, for communicating using It may include separate wireless communication devices. Other configurations are also possible.

3 - Block diagram of UE

3 shows an exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 , in accordance with some embodiments. Note that the block diagram of the communication device of FIG. 3 is merely an example of a possible communication device. According to embodiments, the communication device 106 may be, among other devices, a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or radio station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (eg, laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet, and/or a combination of devices. As shown, the communication device 106 may include a set 300 of components configured to perform core functions. For example, such a set of components may be implemented as a system on chip (SOC), which may include parts for various purposes. Alternatively, this set of components 300 may be implemented as individual components or groups of components for various purposes. The set of components 300 may be coupled (eg, communicatively; directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communication device 106 .

For example, communication device 106 may include various types of memory (eg, including NAND flash 310 ), input/output interfaces such as connector I/F 320 (eg, computer system; dock; charging station; input devices such as microphones, cameras, keyboards; output devices such as speakers; etc.), display 360 , which may be integrated with or external to communication device 106 , e.g. for example, cellular communication circuitry 330 for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, and the like, and short to medium range wireless communication circuitry 329 (eg, Bluetooth™ and WLAN circuitry). In some embodiments, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as a network interface card, for example, for Ethernet.

Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be coupled (eg, communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335 , 336 as shown. The short to medium range wireless communication circuitry 329 may also be coupled (eg, communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 337 , 338 as shown. . Alternatively, the short to medium range wireless communication circuitry 329 may include, in addition to or instead of being coupled (eg, communicatively; directly or indirectly) to the antennas 337 , 338 , an antenna. may be coupled (eg, communicatively; directly or indirectly) to s 335 , 336 . Short-to-medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 and/or cellular communication circuitry 330 may provide multiple receive for receiving and/or transmitting multiple spatial streams, for example in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration. chains and/or multiple transmit chains.

In some embodiments, as further described below, cellular communication circuitry 330 is configured for (including, and/or communicating with, dedicated processors and/or radios, for example) for multiple RATs. to include dedicated receive chains (eg, a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR that are coupled directly or indirectly). Additionally, in some embodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include a single transmit chain that may be switched between radios dedicated to specific RATs. For example, the first radio communication device may be dedicated to a first RAT, for example LTE, and may be dedicated to an additional radio communication device (eg, a second RAT (eg 5G NR)) and A second wireless communication device capable of communicating with the dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain) and the shared transmit chain and the dedicated receive chain.

Communication device 106 may also include and/or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. User interface elements may be any of a variety of elements, such as display 360 (which may be a touchscreen display), keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touchscreen display). , a mouse, microphone and/or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and/or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to the user and/or receiving or interpreting user input. can

The communication device 106 further includes one or more smart cards 345 comprising Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) functionality, such as one or more UICC(s) (Universal Integrated Circuit Card(s)) cards 345 . may include

As shown, SOC 300 includes processor(s) 302 that can execute program instructions for communication device 106 , and a display that can perform graphics processing and provide display signals to display 360 . circuitry 304 may be included. The processor(s) 302 is also configured to receive addresses from the processor(s) 302 and store those addresses in memory (eg, memory 306 , read only memory (ROM) 350 , NAND flash memory). 310), and/or to a memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to translate to locations in It may be coupled to other circuits or devices, such as connector I/F 320 , and/or display 360 . MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, MMU 340 may be included as part of processor(s) 302 .

As noted above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and/or wired communication circuitry. The communication device 106 transmits a request to attach to a first network node operating in accordance with the first RAT, and causes the wireless device to substantially communicate with the first network node and the second network node operating according to the second RAT. may be configured to transmit an indication that simultaneous connections can be maintained. The wireless device may also be configured to transmit a request to attach to the second network node. The request may include an indication that the wireless device may maintain a substantially concurrent connection with the first and second network nodes. Further, the wireless device may be configured to receive an indication that a dual connection (DC) with the first and second network nodes has been established.

As described herein, communication device 106 provides hardware for implementing features for using multiplexing to perform transmissions in accordance with a number of radio access technologies, as well as various other techniques described herein. and software components. The processor 302 of the communication device 106 may implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored in a memory medium (eg, a non-transitory computer readable memory medium). may be configured to implement. Alternatively (or additionally), the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively (or additionally), the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may include one or more of the other components 300 , 304 , 306 , 310 , 320 , 329 , 330 , 340 , 345 , 350 , 360 . may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein in conjunction with

Additionally, as described herein, the processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Accordingly, the processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor 302 . Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (eg, first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor(s) 302 .

Further, as described herein, cellular communication circuitry 330 and short-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may each include one or more processing elements and/or processors. In other words, one or more processing elements/processors may be included in cellular communication circuitry 330 , and similarly, one or more processing elements/processors may be included in short range wireless communication circuitry 329 . Accordingly, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of cellular communication circuitry 330 . Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (eg, first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of cellular communication circuitry 330 . Similarly, short-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of short-range wireless communication circuitry 329 . Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (eg, first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of short-range wireless communication circuitry 329 .

4 - Block diagram of a base station

4 shows an exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 in accordance with some embodiments. Note that the base station of FIG. 4 is only an example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor(s) 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102 . The processor(s) 404 may also be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s) 404 and store these addresses at locations in memory (eg, memory 460 and read only memory (ROM) 450 ). may be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 , which may be configured to convert to , or to other circuits or devices.

Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470 . The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephony network and provide a plurality of devices, such as UE devices 106 , access to the telephony network as described above in FIGS. 1 and 2 .

Network port 470 (or additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, eg, a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility related services and/or other services to a plurality of devices, such as UE devices 106 . In some cases, network port 470 may be coupled to a telephony network via a core network and/or the core network provides a telephony network (eg, between other UE devices serviced by a cellular service provider). can do.

In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next-generation base station, eg, a 5G NR base station or “gNB”. In such embodiments, the base station 102 may be connected to a legacy EPC network and/or to an NRC network. Additionally, the base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more TRPs. Also, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs in one or more gNBs.

Base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 , and possibly multiple antennas. The radio 430 and the at least one antenna 434 may be configured to operate as a radio transceiver, and may be further configured to communicate with the UE devices 106 . The antenna 434 may communicate with the wireless communication device 430 through the communication chain 432 . The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The wireless communication device 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards including, but not limited to, 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, and the like.

Base station 102 may be configured to communicate wirelessly using a number of wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple wireless communication devices that may enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, the base station 102 may include an LTE radio for performing communication according to LTE as well as a 5G NR radio for performing communication according to 5G NR. In such a case, the base station 102 may be capable of operating as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, the base station 102 may communicate with any one of a number of wireless communication technologies (eg, 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM). etc.) may include a multi-mode wireless communication device capable of performing communication according to the present invention.

As further described subsequently herein, BS 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting implementation of the features described herein. The processor 404 of the base station 102 implements some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored in a memory medium (eg, a non-transitory computer readable memory medium). or may be configured to support its implementation. Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 404 of the BS 102 may be combined with one or more of the other components 430 , 432 , 434 , 440 , 450 , 460 , 470 with some of the features described herein. or may be configured to implement all or support an implementation thereof.

Additionally, as described herein, processor(s) 404 may include one or more processing elements. Accordingly, the processor(s) 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor(s) 404 . Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (eg, first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor(s) 404 .

Also, as described herein, the radio 430 may include one or more processing elements. Accordingly, the wireless communication device 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication device 430 . Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (eg, first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform functions of the wireless communication device 430 .

5 - Block diagram of cellular communication circuitry;

5 illustrates an exemplary simplified block diagram of cellular communication circuitry in accordance with some embodiments. The block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of Fig. 5 is merely one example of a possible cellular communication circuitry; Note that other circuits are also possible, such as circuits coupled to or including sufficient antennas to allow different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas. According to embodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may be included in a communication device, such as communication device 106 described above. As noted above, the communication device 106 may be, among other devices, a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (eg, , a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet, and/or a combination of devices.

Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be coupled (eg, communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335a , 335b , 336 as shown (in FIG. 3 ). can In some embodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 is coupled directly or indirectly for (including, and/or communicatively with, dedicated processors and/or radios to, for example, multiple RATs; directly or indirectly; dedicated receive chains (eg, a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, as shown in FIG. 5 , the cellular communication circuit unit 330 may include a modem 510 and a modem 520 . The modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT, such as LTE or LTE-A, for example, and the modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT, such as 5G NR, for example. can be configured. In some embodiments, antennas 335a , 335b , 336 may be shared between RATs and modems as desired.

As shown, modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and memory 516 in communication with processors 512 . The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530 . The RF front end 530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving wireless signals. For example, the RF front end 530 may include receive circuitry (RX) 532 and transmit circuitry (TX) 534 . In some embodiments, receive circuitry 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) frontend 550 , which may include circuitry for receiving wireless signals via antenna 335a .

Similarly, modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and memory 526 in communication with processors 522 . Modem 520 may communicate with RF front end 540 . The RF front end 540 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving wireless signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include receive circuitry 542 and transmit circuitry 544 . In some embodiments, receive circuitry 542 may communicate with DL frontend 560 , which may include circuitry for receiving wireless signals via antenna 335b.

In some embodiments, coupler 570 may couple transmit circuitry 534 to an uplink (UL) front end 572 . Combiner 570 may be or include a switch and/or a multiplexer. Additionally, combiner 570 may couple transmit circuitry 544 to UL front end 572 . The UL front end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting wireless signals via the antenna 336 . Thus, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmit according to a first RAT (eg, as supported via modem 510 ), combiner 570 indicates that modem 510 is the first may be switched to a first state that causes signals to be transmitted according to the RAT (eg, via a transmit chain including transmit circuitry 534 and UL frontend 572 ). Similarly, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmit according to a second RAT (eg, as supported via modem 520 ), combiner 570 determines that modem 520 2 according to the RAT (eg, via a transmit chain including transmit circuitry 544 and UL frontend 572 ).

In some embodiments, modem 510 and modem 520 may be configured to transmit simultaneously, receive simultaneously, and/or transmit and receive simultaneously. Accordingly, the cellular communication circuitry 330 is configured to both the first RAT (eg, as supported via the modem 510 ) and the second RAT (eg, as supported via the modem 520 ). Upon receiving instructions to transmit according to ) can be switched to a third state that allows the transmission of signals. In other words, the modems may coordinate communication activity, and each may perform transmit and/or receive functions at any time as desired.

In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 330 is configured to send, via the first modem, a request to attach to the first network node operating according to the first RAT while the switch is in the first state, and be configured to transmit, via the first modem, an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining a substantially simultaneous connection with the first network node and the second network node operating in accordance with the second RAT while in the first state. can The wireless device may also be configured to transmit, via the second radio, a request to attach to the second network node while the switch is in the second state. The request may include an indication that the wireless device may maintain a substantially concurrent connection with the first and second network nodes. Further, the wireless device may be configured to receive, via the first radio, an indication that a dual connection with the first and second network nodes has been established.

Additionally, modem 510 and modem 520 may coordinate their transmit and receive activities over link 590 . For example, modems 510 , 520 may adjust according to various bearer configurations, such as bearer splitting thresholds negotiated with the network in accordance with embodiments further described with respect to FIG. 8 .

As described herein, modem 510 incorporates features for using multiplexing to perform transmissions in accordance with multiple radio access technologies on the same frequency carrier as well as various other techniques described herein. It may include hardware and software components for implementation. Processors 512 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored in a memory medium (eg, a non-transitory computer readable memory medium). . Alternatively (or additionally), processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively (or additionally), the processor 512 in conjunction with one or more of the other components 530 , 532 , 534 , 550 , 570 , 572 , 335 , 336 may use or It can be configured to implement all of them.

In some embodiments, the processor(s) 512, 522, etc., may execute program instructions stored in a memory medium (eg, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), for example, as described herein. It may be configured to implement or support implementation of some or all of the methods. Alternatively, the processor(s) 512 , 522 , etc. may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA, or as an ASIC, or a combination thereof. Additionally, as described herein, the processor(s) 512 , 522 , etc. may include one or more processing elements. Accordingly, the processor(s) 512 , 522 , etc. may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor(s) 512 , 522 , etc. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (eg, first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor(s) 512 , 522 , etc.

As described herein, modem 520 includes hardware and hardware for implementing features for using multiplexing to perform transmissions in accordance with a number of radio access technologies, as well as various other techniques described herein. It may include software components. Processors 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored in a memory medium (eg, a non-transitory computer readable memory medium). . Alternatively (or additionally), processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively (or additionally), the processor 522 in conjunction with one or more of the other components 540 , 542 , 544 , 550 , 570 , 572 , 335 , 336 may use or It can be configured to implement all of them.

6 and 7 - 5G NR architecture

In some implementations, fifth generation (5G) wireless communication will initially be deployed concurrently with other wireless communication standards (eg, LTE). For example, FIG. 6 shows a possible standalone (SA) implementation of a next generation core (NGC) network 606 and a 5G NR base station (eg, gNB 604 ), while FIG. Dual connectivity between LTE and 5G NR (or NR), such as according to the exemplary non-standalone (NSA) architecture, has been designated as part of the initial deployment of NR. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7 , the EPC network 600 may continue to communicate with current LTE base stations (eg, eNB 602 ). Additionally, the eNB 602 may communicate with a 5G NR base station (eg, the gNB 604 ) and may pass data between the EPC network 600 and the gNB 604 . In some cases, gNB 604 may also have at least a user plane reference point with EPC network 600 . Thus, the EPC network 600 can be used (or reused), and the gNB 604 has extra capacity for UEs, for example to provide them with increased downlink and/or uplink throughput. can play a role as In other words, LTE may be used for control plane signaling, and NR may be used for user plane signaling. Thus, LTE may be used to establish a connection to the network, and NR may be used for data services. As can be appreciated, many other non-standalone architectural variants are possible.

Fig. 8 - Negotiation bearer configuration

In multi-RAT dual-connectivity (MR-DC), a UE (eg, UE 106 ) uses cells of two different RATs simultaneously with a wireless (eg, cellular) network can communicate The UE may maintain two control plane connections with the network, for example via a master cell group (MCG) and a secondary cell group (SCG). In MCG, a primary cell (PCell) may remain active for uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) control (eg, and potentially data) communications. Similarly, in SCG, a primary secondary cell (PSCell) may be kept active, for example, for UL and DL communication of control information. It will be understood that the remaining activity does not preclude operation according to discontinuous reception (DRX). Accordingly, the UE may support simultaneous reception and transmission using MCG and SCG (eg, via PCell and/or PSCell, among other possible cells).

In the user plane, a UE may support three bearer types (eg, using both MCG and SCG), eg, MCG-Bearer, SCG-Bearer, and Split Bearer. In some embodiments, for split bearer configuration, UL transmissions up to a (eg, configurable) threshold amount of data are transmitted via the primary RLC entity only (eg, if desired, the SCG also acts as the primary RLC entity). role, but may be transmitted (via MCG). In some embodiments, for a UL transmission above a threshold amount, the transmission may occur via both a primary RLC entity and a secondary RLC entity. In existing MR-DC mechanisms (e.g., including Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (EN-DC) (EUTRA-NR-DC), where LTE is MCG and NR is SCG), the bearer type and The UL amount of data threshold (for split bearer) may be configured by the network. The split between MCG and SCG may be referred to as split bearer configuration. The split bearer configuration may include both a threshold for initiating the split (eg, ul-DataSplitThresold) and a portion of data to be transmitted by each cell group after the threshold is reached. Such a threshold may be evaluated for the amount of data in the UE's UL buffer, for example for a split bearer. In other words, in some embodiments, when the amount of data in the buffer is below the threshold, the MCG may be used for transmission of all data in the buffer, but when the amount of data in the buffer reaches the threshold, the data is transmitted on the MCG. It may be divided into a part and a second part transmitted on the SCG. Relevant technical standards include 3GPP 36.323, 36.331 and 38.331. Among other details, these specifications provide for various possible thresholds for ul-DataSplitThresold (eg, b0, b100, b200, b400, b800, b1600, b3200, b6400, b12800, b25600, b51200, b102400, b204800, b409600, and b819200), it should be noted that embodiments of the present invention may include other threshold values and configurations.

Conversely, split bearer configuration consists of two thresholds (eg, dl-DataSplitThresold) for initiating splitting and a portion of data to be transmitted by each cell group after the threshold is reached (eg, offloading ratio). can include all. Such a threshold may be evaluated for the amount of data in the network's data buffer, for example for a split bearer. In other words, in some embodiments, when the amount of data in the buffer is below the threshold, the MCG may be used for transmission of all data in the buffer, but when the amount of data in the buffer reaches the threshold, the data is transmitted on the MCG. It may be divided into a part and a second part transmitted on the SCG.

Wireless transmission and reception may vary in power consumption based on which RAT and/or frequency is used to perform the transmission. For example, LTE may require less energy than NR frequency band 1 (FR1) (eg, 450 to 6,000 MHz, according to some embodiments), which may require less energy than NR FR2 (eg, in some embodiments). According to others, it may require less energy than 24,250 to 52,600 MHz). For example, NR FR1 and FR2 may include beamforming techniques that may require higher power for transmission than LTE. Also, FR2 may contain more beams than FR1, and more highly focused beams, which may also require higher power.

For a UE operating according to EN-DC, if the network configures the NR SCG as the primary RLC entity (eg UL and/or DL), the UE power consumption may vary and thermal overheating may occur. In particular, due to the high power requirements associated with beamforming, a UE performing transmission according to NR for an extended period of time may reach temperature thresholds and then signal the network to reduce NR transmissions. This can result in a cyclic pattern with a significant amount of signaling (eg, use of NR leads to overheating, leads to signaling, leads to reduced use of NR, leads to normal temperatures, and increased use of NR cause overheating, etc.). This pattern may occur when the network configures an SCG bearer on the NR or when the network configures a split bearer with the primary RLC entity as the NR (eg, via NR SCG).

It will be understood that high power drain and overheating may also occur to the UE in DL reception cases. As a result, it may be desirable for the UE to negotiate the bearer type and bearer type configuration (dl-DataSplitThresold) based on the observed factors from the UE side.

8 is a communication flow diagram illustrating example techniques for negotiating bearer configuration. The techniques of FIG. 8 may enable a UE and a network to negotiate bearer configurations (eg, MCG, SCG, or split bearer, and any split bearer configuration parameters) to avoid the various problems described above. For example, according to various embodiments described above, a UE may perform UL transmissions using NR FR1 and/or NR FR2 at a low enough rate to reduce or avoid the overheating problems described above.

Aspects of the method of FIG. 8 are in communication with one or more wireless devices, such as UE(s) 106 , as shown and described in connection with the figures, or more generally, as desired, among other devices, in the figure may be implemented by a network including one or more base stations (eg, BS 102 ) in coordination with any of the computer circuitry, systems, devices, elements or components shown in FIG. For example, processor(s) associated with communication circuitry 329 or 330 such as processor(s) 302 , processor(s) 512 and/or 522 of the UE, etc. ), a base station (eg, processor(s) 404 , or a processor associated with radio 430 and/or communication chain 432 , among various possibilities), or a network element (eg, NGC 606 ); Any component, such as EPC 600 ) may cause a UE or base station(s) to perform some or all of the illustrated method elements. Although at least some elements of the method are described in a manner that relates to the use of communication techniques and/or features associated with 3GPP specification documents, such description is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and aspects of the method may be applied to any suitable Note that it may be used as desired in a wireless communication system. Furthermore, the method may be applied in other contexts (eg, between multiple UEs, eg, in device-to-device communication). In various embodiments, some of the elements of the methods shown may be performed concurrently, in an order different from that shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as desired. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

A UE 106 in communication with one or more BSs 102 of a wireless network, eg, a cellular network, may enter 802 a dual connectivity mode with the network, according to some embodiments. The dual connectivity mode may be EN-DC, eg, MCG may operate according to LTE, and SCG may operate according to NR (eg, including FR1 and/or FR2). MCG and SCG may be provided by the same or different base stations (eg, one or more BS 102 ).

BS 102 may provide initial configuration information related to, for example, dual connectivity. Such configuration information may include an indication of a bearer (eg, MCG, SCG, or split). Similarly, the configuration information may include an indication of a threshold to use both cell groups in a split bearer configuration (eg ul-DataSplitThreshold or dl-DataSplitThreshold) and/or an SCG of threshold to reach some portion of data to transmit. It may include an indication of whether or not Also, the configuration may include whether data should initially be split on split bearer or both should be transmitted on MCG, eg via parameter ul-DataSplitDRB-ViaSCG (eg, true for both cell groups). may indicate that MCG should be used, and false may indicate that only MCG should be used initially).

In some embodiments, the initial configuration information may provide a range of a buffer (eg, a range for an amount of data) to trigger splitting the data over the split bearer. In other words, in addition to or instead of indicating a single ul-DataSplitthreshold, the initial configuration information may indicate a threshold range (eg, ul-SplitThresholdRange). For example, the network may set UL-SplitThresholdRange as b6400 to b409600, UL-DataSplitThreshold as b51200, and ul-DataSplitDRB-ViaSCG as FALSE. Such a configuration may cause the UE to use an initial UL-DataSplitThreshold of b51200, and the UE may adjust the threshold within the range of b6400 to b409600 as desired (eg, based on conditions, as discussed below). can make it

In some embodiments, the initial configuration information may provide a range of portions for partitioning, such as when a partitioning threshold is reached. For example, the configuration information may indicate directing the first percentage to the second percentage to the secondary RLC entity when a splitting threshold is reached. For example, if the SCG is the primary RLC entity of a split bearer, the configuration information may indicate that 30-60% of the UL data may be directed to a secondary RLC entity (eg, MCG) when a split threshold is reached. there is.

In some embodiments, the initial configuration information may specify respective ranges for a plurality of respective split bearer parameters (eg, a first range for a data splitting threshold, a second range for an offloading ratio, etc.) .

In some embodiments, the initial configuration information may cause the UE to perform and report one or more measurements. Measurements include signal-noise ratio (SNR), signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR), reference signal received power (RSRP), and reference signal received quality (RSRP). quality, RSRQ), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), channel quality indicator (CQI), channel state information (CSI), block error rate (BLER) ), bit error rate (BER), channel impulse response (CIR), channel error response (CER), etc. . Parameters related to how and when these measurements may be performed and/or reported may be specified, such as hysteresis parameters.

The initial configuration information may be provided by a radio resource control (RRC) message, or other type of signaling. Configuration is an action performed by one or more layers of UE 106 including, for example, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), radio link control (RLC), and/or MAC layers, etc. can be applied to For example, the configuration may be applied to a method in which the NR PDCP layer splits a split bearer for LTE and NR RLC layers, eg, as discussed in relation to FIG. 9 below.

UE 102 and BS 102, before entering and/or while in dual connectivity, provide data (eg, application data, payload data, etc.) and/or other control information (eg, UL and/or or DL directions).

According to some embodiments, UE 102 may transmit information to BS 102 ( 804 ).

In some embodiments, the information indicates one or more preferences (eg, offers) of the UE related to bearer configuration (eg, bearer type, offloading ratio (eg, split ratio) and/or threshold of split bearer, etc.) can Such suggestions or preferences may be based on any or all of the following: the battery level of the UE, the thermal state (eg temperature) of the UE or any particular component(s), active applications, the device is locked Whether or not it is actively being used, etc. Suggestions may include one or more of the following: a suggested bearer (eg, MCG, SCG, or split), a preferred RAT for UL transmission and DL reception (eg, LTE or NR, etc.), a preferred NR frequency band (eg, , FR1 or FR2), the preferred primary RLC entity for the split bearer (e.g. LTE, NR FR1, NR FR2), and/or the preferred offloading ratio and/or threshold for the split bearer (e.g. greater than 1000 Mbytes) 70% for SCG for transmission, etc.). For example, the proposals may include a range for each RAT, eg, a range of a splitting threshold for each RAT. For example, the proposal(s) may include a partitioning threshold range for LTE and a second partitioning threshold range for NR.

Proposed bearer (eg MCG, SCG, or split), preferred RAT for UL transmission and DL reception (eg LTE or NR, etc.), preferred primary RLC entity for split bearer (eg LTE, NR FR1, NR FR2), and/or preferred offloading ratios and/or thresholds for split bearers (eg, 70% for SCG for transmissions greater than 1000 Mbytes, etc.) may be different between UL and DL. . In other words, any proposal for UL may be independent of any proposal for DL, and vice versa. In various embodiments, the UE may make proposals for UL configuration(s) only, DL configuration(s) only, or both UL and DL configuration(s).

The UE may determine such preferences based on various factors including measurements such as MCG and/or SCG, thermal information, and the like. This information may be provided to the network via RRC (eg UE assistance information) and/or may be provided to the network via a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), among other possibilities. In some embodiments, the UE may transmit data for basic measurements (eg, thermal status, battery level, application activity, etc.) in addition to or instead of transmitting preference information.

In other embodiments, the UE may transmit one or more measurement reports to BS 102 . Such report(s) may be transmitted as specified in the initial configuration information. For example, the UE may transmit the report, eg, on RSRP of MCG and/or SCG. The UE may also transmit one or more buffer status reports (BSRs), eg, indicating the amount of UL data in the UE's buffer for transmission to the BS.

According to some embodiments, the network may determine a (eg, updated) bearer configuration, and BS 102 may transmit 806 an indication of the selected bearer configuration to UE 106 . The selected (eg, negotiated) bearer configuration may be transmitted as RRC reconfiguration, among various possibilities.

The selected bearer configuration may be selected based on information transmitted by the UE. For example, the selected bearer configuration may be based on preferences and/or measurements indicated by the UE and/or any reports of the BSR. The BS may also consider other information. For example, the network may consider measurements performed by the BS (eg, the UL SINR of one or both cell groups, eg, as measured by the BS or other network elements). The network may also determine traffic of other UEs, load on either or both of MCG and/or SCG, load on other cells, bandwidth availability, interference from other cells/networks/RATs, network policies, etc. Other factors can be considered as well. For example, the network may attempt to balance the load among various cells of the network including the MCG and/or SCG.

In some embodiments, DL bearer selection and/or DL bearer configuration may not be transmitted by the network to the UE. For example, the network may choose to configure bearers according to parameters suggested/reported by the UE, and to start exchanging data traffic autonomously using selection and configuration.

UE 106 and BS 102 may perform 808 further communication, eg, depending on the selected bearer configuration, according to some embodiments. Such further communication may include UL and/or DL transmission of data and/or control information.

For UL transmissions, the UE 106 may operate according to the (eg, updated) selected bearer configuration of the 806 . For example, the UE may use the bearer indicated by the configuration, and if the bearer is a split bearer, the UE may set any offloading ratio and/or threshold for directing data of the split bearer to the MCG and/or SCG. can be used For example, if a split bearer is specified, the UE may use the primary RLC entity for any data transmissions that are less (eg, in number of bits, bytes, etc.) than the data split threshold. The UE may use the primary RLC entity and the secondary RLC entity for any transmissions that are greater than the data splitting threshold, and may split the data between the two RLC entities according to the offloading ratio. Similarly, if the bearer configuration provides a range of data splitting thresholds, the UE may dynamically adapt the threshold it uses within that range, eg, as the UE desires, eg according to conditions. Also, if the bearer configuration provides a range of offloading ratios, the UE may dynamically adapt the ratio it uses within that range, eg as the UE desires, eg according to conditions. The UE may consider any of a variety of factors (eg, measurements) in adapting the data partitioning threshold and/or offloading ratio.

Similarly, for DL transmissions, BS 102 may operate according to the (eg, updated) selected bearer configuration of 806 . For example, the BS may use a bearer that matches the selected configuration, and if the bearer is a split bearer, the BS may use any offloading ratio and/or threshold for directing the split bearer's data to the MCG and/or SCG. can be used For example, if a split bearer is selected, the BS may use the primary RLC entity for any data transmissions that are less (eg, in number of bits, bytes, etc.) than the data split threshold. The BS may use the primary RLC entity and the secondary RLC entity for any transmissions greater than the data splitting threshold, and may split the data between the two RLC entities according to the offloading ratio. Similarly, if the bearer configuration provides a range of data splitting thresholds, the BS can dynamically set the threshold it uses within that range, eg as desired by the BS and/or as indicated by the UE, eg according to conditions. can be adapted to Further, if the selected bearer configuration provides a range of offloading ratios, the BS can dynamically adjust the ratio it uses within that range, eg as desired by the BS and/or as indicated by the UE, eg according to conditions. can be adapted to The BS may consider any of various factors (eg, measurements) and/or additional indications from the UE in adapting the data partitioning threshold and/or offloading ratio.

Figure 9 - Architecture for different cell groups and split bearers

9 depicts aspects of an example radio protocol architecture in accordance with some embodiments. The architecture shown may be an example or portion of cellular communication circuitry, such as may be included in UE 106 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 , among various possibilities. An example may be illustrated in the context of EN-DC.

As shown, the MAC layer of each RAT may handle both a dedicated bearer (eg, an MCG bearer in the case of LTE and/or an SCG bearer in the case of NR) and a split bearer. In contrast, the NR PDCP layer may handle the split bearer, a separate instance of the NR PDCP layer may handle the SCG bearer, and the joint LTE/NR PDCP layer may handle the MCG bearer. Also, two LTE RLC layer instances and two NR RLC layer instances may handle three bearers, eg, separate LTE and NR RLC instances may handle split bearer.

Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 - Dual connection connection

10 illustrates an example wireless environment in which a UE 106 may use a dual connectivity (DC) connection, such as an EN-DC, in accordance with some embodiments. As shown, the UE may have separate connections (eg, separate bearers) to the MCG 1002 and the SCG 1004 . In some embodiments, an MCG may correspond to a macro cell, whereas an SCG may correspond to a smaller cell. MCG and SCG may be provided by the same or different BS 102 . For example, MCG and SCG may be provided by co-located BSs 102 , or a single BS 102 performing multiple logical roles. MCG and SCG may be provided by physically separate BSs 102 . The SCG may correspond to a specific portion of the geographic area covered by the MCG.

11 shows that excessive use of SCG 1004 for UL transmissions results in overheating of UE 106 and/or significant amounts of signaling (eg, between UE 106 and one or more BSs 102 ) resulting in overheating. It shows the possibility of avoiding, reducing or alleviating As mentioned above, UL transmissions on NR FR1 and NR FR2 may require high power due to relatively focused (eg, beamforming) transmissions. Thus, if the NR transmissions continue long enough (note that the length of time may depend on various factors including the use of FR1 versus the use of FR2, ambient temperatures, other activity of the device, etc.), the UE 106 will It may overheat or approach the threshold of overheating. Accordingly, the UE may signal the network to change DC parameters to increase usage of the MCG 1002 (eg, LTE). This can lead to an undesirable cycle of overheating and signaling related to the onset and end of overheat conditions.

12-14 - Transmission proposals for bearer configuration

12 and 13 show examples in which the UE transmits a bearer proposal to the network. 12 , UE 106 is a DC with an LTE Master Node (MN) 1204 (eg, PCell in MCG) and an NR Secondary Node (SN) 1206 (eg, PSCell in SCG). mode (eg, EN-DC) ( 1210 ). The configuration may be as described above with respect to 802 . The UE may transmit a bearer proposal to the MN ( 1220 ). A bearer proposal may be an example of information transmitted as described above with respect to 804. The bearer proposal may be transmitted as a MAC CE. In the example shown, the bearer proposal may indicate to the network the UE's proposal to configure an SCG bearer on the NR FR1 cell(s). The MN may exchange information about this proposal with the SN ( 1230 ). For example, the MN may notify the SN that an SCG bearer will be configured on NR FR1 cells, and the SN may acknowledge the message and/or confirm that resources are available. The MN may transmit 1240 an RRC configuration (eg, reconfiguration) message to the UE, eg, indicating that the SCG bearer configuration includes a mapped logical channel (LCH) on the NR FR1 cell(s). The RRC reconfiguration message may be an example of the transmission of the configuration information described above with respect to 806 . The UE may communicate with the SN using NR FR1 ( 1250 ). The communication may be an example of the further communication described above with respect to 808 . The communication may include UL transmissions on FR1, such as according to RRC reconfiguration.

13 shows an example similar to that of FIG. 12 . For FIG. 13 , the UE may be configured in DC mode as described above with respect to 1210 . The UE may transmit ( 1320 ) the UE assistance information, eg, to the MN 1204 via one or more RRC messages. The UE assistance information may include the same information as described above with respect to 1220. However, the format, timing, and resources used for transmission may be different (eg, RRC instead of MAC CE). The remainder of FIG. 13 (eg, 1230 , 1240 , and 1250 ) may proceed as described above with respect to FIG. 12 .

14 shows an example of a proposal related to a split bearer proposal. Similar to FIGS. 12 and 13 , the UE may be configured in DC mode as described above with respect to 1210 . The UE may transmit a bearer proposal indicating the split bearer and associated proposed configuration parameters ( 1420 ). The configuration parameters may include any of the split bearer characteristics, eg, as discussed with respect to the 806. For example, the proposed parameters may include a proposed partition (or range of partitions) for UL and/or DL data transmissions between LTE and NR. For example, the parameters may include a percentage to be transmitted on each RAT or each group of cells, or a ratio of one transmission type to another (eg, an offloading ratio). Additionally, the proposed parameters may include a threshold (or threshold range) for transmitting on the secondary RLC entity. In the example shown, the bearer proposal and parameters are transmitted by the MAC CE. However, it will be understood that other formats and channels may be used to transmit such information as desired. For example, MAC CE may be used, among various possibilities. Although not shown in FIG. 14 , it will be appreciated that the MN 1204 may consult with or notify the SN 1206 regarding bearer proposals and/or configuration selections, such as at 1230 .

Split bearer parameters, such as a data split threshold, may be selected by the UE (eg, for a proposal to the BS) based on various factors (eg, measurements). For example, a UE may consider one or more of the following: MCG PCell RSRP, MCG PCell SINR, SCG Pscell RSRP, SCG Pscell SINR, BLER on SCG, BLER on MCG, battery level, of one or more applications running on the UE. state, and/or thermal (eg, temperature measurements of the UE) (eg, as a whole or in a particular component or components). Additional or different measures may also be used, for example on radio conditions and/or performance of the UE. In other words, any of a variety of measures of DL conditions may be used to inform the UE's selection for the recommended UL parameters. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may consider corresponding UL measurements (eg, as measured by BS 102 and reported to the UE).

Tables 1 and 2 below are exemplary examples of selecting the proposed ul-DataSplitthreshold based on DL measurements. Such tables may be used whenever the UE wants to recommend split bearer parameters or update a previous recommendation. For example, such parameters may be used when, among various possibilities, ul-DataSplitDRB-ViaSCG is FALSE and conditions on MCG are better than conditions on SCG (eg, + configurable threshold). For example, such a table compares the conditions of the MCG (eg, as measured by RSRP, SNR, and/or other metrics) (eg, and potentially, a threshold) of the SCG to the conditions of the SCG (eg, a threshold). , RSRP, SNR, and/or other metrics). In other words, various tables corresponding to various levels of differences in conditions between MCG and SCG may be used. For example, if conditions in MCG are significantly better than in SCG, the UE may use a table that results in relatively more use of MCG (eg, higher data partitioning thresholds). Similarly, if conditions are better in SCG than in MCG, the UE may use a table that results in relatively more use of SCG (eg, lower data partitioning thresholds). Therefore, the recommended bearer configuration may be based on the comparison of MCG and SCG.

Table 1 illustrates selecting a threshold based on RSRP of an MCG (eg, PCell).

Table 2 illustrates selecting a threshold based on the SNR of the MCG (eg, PCell).

Although Tables 1 and 2 illustrate the selection of ul-DataSplitthreshold, it will be understood that other split bearer parameters may be selected in a similar manner. Also, bearer selection, eg, MCG, SCG, or split bearer, may be performed based on the same or similar factors, eg, using tables of ranges for one or more measures.

Returning to FIG. 14 , based on the proposed parameters, the MN may transmit to the UE an RRC configuration (or reconfiguration) message, eg, including the updated bearer configuration (1440, eg, similar to 1240). In the example shown, the selected configuration may include LTE as the primary RLC entity and a split bearer configuration with a data split threshold of 100 MB. In addition, data offloading ratio or portions for each RAT may also be included (eg, offloading ratio). It will be understood that the illustrated values are exemplary only, and that other values or parameters may be included. For a first transmission that is below the data partitioning threshold (eg, < 100 MB), the data may be transmitted entirely using the MN ( 1450 ). For the second transmission that is above the data partitioning threshold (eg, > 100 MB), the UL transmissions may be split (eg, according to a ratio) 1460 between the MN and the SN. It will be understood that transmissions 1450 , 1460 are illustrative examples of communication as described with respect to 808 . Also, the order of the two transmissions is exemplary only; It will be appreciated that any number of transmissions below and/or above the threshold may occur in any order.

15 - Exemplary bearer proposal structure

15 and Tables 3-5 show example data structures for transmitting a bearer proposal, eg, as in 804. In the illustrated example, a MAC CE is shown. However, it will be understood that other structures (eg, RRC message) may be used, and similar features and design elements may be used.

Table 3 shows the bearer proposal structure. The example may be compared to 3GPP 36.321 and/or may be applicable to 3GPP 38.321. As shown, a new index 10011 may be added to include a bearer proposal.

The bearer offer may be formatted as shown in FIG. 15 , according to some embodiments. However, it will be understood that other formats or structures may be used. In that example, the bearer proposal format includes an indication of a logical channel identifier (LCH-ID), a bearer type, a split bearer threshold (note that additional or different split bearer parameters, such as an offloading ratio, may be included), and an indication of FR1 or FR2. may include

The bearer type field may use an index as illustrated in Table 4, according to some embodiments.

The split bearer threshold field may use an index as illustrated in Table 5, according to some embodiments.

It will be understood that Figure 15 and Tables 3-5 are exemplary only, and that other formats are possible. For example, additional fields may be included (eg, an offloading ratio, etc.), fields may be combined (eg, an index to a combination of a partitioning threshold and an offloading ratio, etc. may be used), or all illustrated Fields may not be included.

Figure 16 - Network selection of bearer configuration based on UE information

16 shows an example of a network (eg, BS 102 or other network element) selecting a bearer configuration based on UE information. As shown, the UE may be configured 1210 in DC mode, eg, as described above with respect to 802 . The network may provide configuration information including instructions for the UE to take and report one or more measurements. The UE may provide the measurement report to the network, such as via transmission to the BS 102 providing the MN 1620 . In the example shown, the measurement report may include one or more RSRP measurements. However, it will be understood that alternative and/or additional measures may be included. The measurement(s) may be of a PCell, a PSCell, and/or another cell or group of cells. In addition, the measurement report may include or be associated with other reports (eg, BSR, report on thermal status of the UE, etc.). The measurement report may be or be associated with a regularly scheduled report for the network, such as channel state information (CSI). Based on the measurement report, the network may select a bearer configuration, and may send a configuration message (eg, an RRC reconfiguration message) to the UE indicating the selected bearer configuration ( 1630 ). The bearer configuration message may be based on one or more of the following: the measurements reported in the measurement report, the buffer status of the UE, and/or measurements taken by the BS 102 (and/or other BSs 102 ). . The network may use tables similar to Tables 1 and 2 (described above) to select a configuration, among various possibilities. For example, based on the reported DL RSRP (eg, in the measurement report), the UL SNR (eg, measured by the MN's BS 102 ), and/or the BSR, the network may select a configuration for the UE. there is. In the example shown, the configuration message indicates a split bearer configuration with a primary RLC entity on LTE and a data split threshold of 100 MB, although other configurations may be selected as desired. For example, such a data partitioning threshold (eg, and/or ratio, etc.) may be selected based on the DL RSRP of the PCell (eg, as reported by the UE in the measurement report), among various possibilities. The UE may then communicate with the network (including MN and/or SN) according to configuration. Additional measurement reports and additional configuration messages may be sent (eg, detected based on measurements, etc.), such as based on a schedule and/or based on changing conditions. Accordingly, the configuration may be updated (eg, periodically or as needed) by the network in response to changing conditions as reported by the UE.

range of parameters

In some embodiments, the network (eg, BS 102 or other network element) may configure the UE to operate flexibly within a range of parameters. For example, (eg, at 802 and/or 806), BS 102 may transmit configuration information indicating a range of parameters, and (eg, at 808), the UE may be within the range while communicating with the network. You can dynamically select parameter values from In some embodiments, the range of parameters may be selected by the network based on information provided by the UE (eg, at 804, preferences and/or measurements). In other embodiments, the range of parameters may be selected by the network (eg, at 802 and such that 804 and 806 are omitted) without input from the UE.

The range of parameters may include, among various possibilities, a range of a split threshold, a range of offloading ratios, and/or a selection of possible bearer types (eg, MCG, SCG, and/or split). The UE may then autonomously (or automatically) change the actual values within the range of parameters according to its internal preferences. For example, the UE may dynamically adjust a parameter (eg, data partitioning threshold, offloading ratio, etc.) within range based on detecting a change in radio conditions (eg, measurements such as RSRP, SNR, BLER, etc.) can

As an illustrative example, in an RRC reconfiguration message, in a PDCP configuration (eg, or other suitable message and/or field), the network may include a new information element (IE), ie, UL-SplitThresholdRange. The network may set the UL-SplitThresholdRange as b6400 to b409600. The network may use the same or different IE to set ULDatasplithanger (eg, initially configured value) as b51200 and ul-DataSplitDRB-ViaSCG as FALSE. Based on this configuration, the UE may start with UL-DataSplitThreshold as b51200. Then, based on the measurements, if the MCG cell is performing better (eg, or otherwise based on internal preference), the UE sets the ULDataSplitThreshold to b409600, without any communication with the network regarding the change in UL-DataSplitThreshold. (eg, the upper limit in this example), or to any value from b51200 to b409600. Similarly, based on the measurements, if the MCG cell is performing worse (eg, or otherwise based on internal preference), the UE sets the ULDataSplitThreshold without any communication with the network regarding the change of UL-DataSplitThreshold. b6400 (eg, the lower limit in this example), or as low as any value between b51200 and b6400. If the UE does not measure MCG (or otherwise cannot draw any conclusions regarding UL-DataSplitThreshold), it may use the initial network configured value (eg, b51200 in this example).

In some embodiments, the new RRC IE may be configured as follows:

[[ ul-DataSplitThresholdRange-rx CHOICE {

release NULL,

start ENUMERATED {

b0, b100, b200, b400, b800, b1600, b3200, b6400, b12800,

b25600, b51200, b102400, b204800, b409600, b819200,

spare1}

end ENUMERATED {

b0, b100, b200, b400, b800, b1600, b3200, b6400, b12800,

b25600, b51200, b102400, b204800, b409600, b819200,

spare1}

}

This new IE may be compared with the existing ul-DataSplitThreshold IE (see, eg, 3GPP 36.331 and 38.331):

[[ ul-DataSplitThreshold-r13 CHOICE {

release NULL,

setup ENUMERATED {

b0, b100, b200, b400, b800, b1600, b3200, b6400, b12800,

b25600, b51200, b102400, b204800, b409600, b819200,

spare1}

}

It will be appreciated that the ul-DataSplitThresholdRange IE described above is exemplary only, and that alternative formats or other details of the IE may be used as desired.

Additional information and examples

In the following, exemplary embodiments are provided.

Exemplary embodiments may include a wireless device, the wireless device comprising: an antenna; a wireless communication device coupled to the antenna; and a processing element operatively coupled to the radio, wherein the device is configured to implement any or all portions of the preceding examples.

A further illustrative set of embodiments may include a non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium containing program instructions that, when executed on a device, cause the device to implement any or all portions of any of the preceding examples. there is.

Another additional exemplary set of embodiments may include a computer program comprising instructions for performing any or all portions of any of the preceding examples.

Another exemplary set of embodiments may include an apparatus comprising means for performing any or all of the elements of any of the preceding examples.

Another exemplary set of embodiments includes a 5G NR network node or base station configured to perform any action or combination of actions substantially as described herein in the detailed description and/or drawings for practicing the invention. can do.

Another illustrative set of embodiments is 5G NR comprising any component or combination of components as described in the drawings and/or in the details for practicing the invention herein, as included in a mobile device. It may include a network node or a base station.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be embodied in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be embodied as a computer implemented method, a computer readable memory medium, or a computer system. Other embodiments may be realized using one or more custom designed hardware devices, such as ASICs. Still other embodiments may be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements, such as FPGAs.

In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable memory medium may be configured so that it stores program instructions and/or data, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to: For example, any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein; or any combination of such subsets.

In some embodiments, a device (eg, UE 106 ) may be configured to include a processor (or set of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, and the processor includes the memory medium is configured to read and execute program instructions from, any of the various method embodiments described herein (or any combination of method embodiments described herein, or described herein) It is executable to implement any subset of any of the disclosed method embodiments, or any combination of such subsets. A device may be embodied in any of a variety of forms.

It is well understood that use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risks of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

While the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be construed to cover all such variations and modifications.

Claims (20)

An apparatus for operating a user equipment device (UE), comprising:
a processor, wherein the processor causes the UE to:
to enter a dual connectivity mode with a cellular network, wherein the dual connectivity mode includes connections to a master cell group and a secondary cell group;
send, to a base station of the cellular network, information comprising a proposed uplink and/or downlink bearer configuration for a bearer connecting the UE to at least one of the master cell group and/or the secondary cell group; ;
receive, from the base station, an indication of a selected uplink bearer configuration;
to the base station to transmit uplink data according to the selected uplink bearer configuration; And
and receive, from the base station, downlink data according to a selected downlink bearer configuration. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the proposed uplink and/or downlink bearer configuration comprises a proposed uplink bearer and/or a proposed downlink bearer. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the proposed uplink and/or downlink bearer configuration comprises a preferred radio access technology for uplink transmission and downlink reception. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the proposed uplink and/or downlink bearer configuration comprises a split bearer parameter. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the split bearer parameter comprises an offloading ratio. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the split bearer parameter comprises a data split threshold. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the proposed bearer configuration is based on a thermal and/or power state of the UE. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the proposed bearer configuration is based on measurements of the master cell group. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the proposed bearer configuration is based on a measurement of a primary secondary cell (PSCell) of the secondary cell group. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the proposed bearer configuration is based on a comparison of conditions for the master cell group and conditions for the secondary cell group. A method for operating a cellular network, comprising:
By network entity:
entering a dual connectivity mode with a user equipment device (UE), the dual connectivity mode comprising the use of a master node and a secondary node;
receiving, from the UE, a measurement report;
selecting an uplink bearer configuration and a downlink bearer configuration based on the measurement report;
sending, to the UE, an indication of the uplink bearer configuration;
receiving uplink data from the UE according to the uplink bearer configuration; and
transmitting downlink data to the UE according to the downlink bearer configuration. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the uplink bearer configuration and the downlink bearer configuration are independent of each other. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the bearer configuration comprises a data split threshold, the measurement report comprises a reference signal received power (RSRP) of a primary cell, and the data split threshold is based on the RSRP. How to. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein selecting the bearer configuration is further based on a buffer status report received from the UE. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein selecting the bearer configuration is further based on a proposed uplink and/or downlink bearer configuration received from the UE. A user equipment device (UE) comprising:
radio; and
a processor, wherein the processor causes the UE to:
to enter a dual connection mode with a cellular network;
to a base station of the cellular network, to transmit information;
receive, from the base station, an indication of a selected bearer configuration comprising a range of values for at least one split bearer parameter; And
While transmitting data to the base station:
and dynamically adjust the at least one split bearer parameter within the range of values, wherein the dynamically adjusting includes using a first value of the at least one split bearer parameter at a first time and a second and using the second value of the at least one split bearer parameter at time. 17. The UE of claim 16, wherein the selected bearer configuration further comprises an initial value for the at least one split bearer parameter. 17. The UE of claim 16, wherein the at least one split bearer parameter comprises a data split threshold. 19. The UE of claim 18, wherein dynamically adjusting comprises adjusting the data partitioning threshold in response to detecting a change in radio conditions. The UE of claim 16 , wherein the at least one split bearer parameter comprises an offloading ratio.

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